The Best Summer Beers

Quick! Summer's Almost Gone And You Still Have To Try These 30 Beers

Welcome to the AskMen.com Summer Beer Guide. After some significant “research,” I’ve put together a list of 30 beers to enjoy during the balmy summer months. I’ve made a point of selecting a huge range of styles and breweries of origin — there's beers from traditional areas like Germany and the US, but also less-known producers like Italy and New Zealand, so read on and discover some unique and special beers to consider quaffing this summer.

Sünner Kölsch

Summer is a time for light, drinkable beers. We’re going to start off with a German Kölsch from Sünner, a delicious choice on the patio from Cologne. Kölsch is crystal clear and pale golden in color, it has a light grainy flavor backed with light citrus notes.

Früh Radler

While we’re talking Kölsch, the next beer is from a famous Kölsch producer, but with a twist. The Früh Radler is a combination of 50% Kölsch and 50% lemon juice. My first Radler was created in real time at a beer garden in Germany, but Früh does it for you to create a fresh and refreshing lemon-infused beer.

Boon Kriek

One can’t talk interesting fruit beers and not mention Belgium. The next beer is a Belgian Kriek, an effervescent, tart fruit beer from Boon. Kriek is made by adding cherries to an already tart beer, and the Boon is delightfully flavorful and effervescent. It’s best enjoyed in a champagne flute to showcase the copious pink foam.

Shipyard Smashed Blueberry

Switching gears completely from the light and effervescent Kriek, next up is the Smashed Blueberry from Shipyard. This isn’t a patio beer, but instead is a big dark beer with intense roasty and blueberry character to be enjoyed on a cool summer night. Think of it as a fruity, anti-fruit beer!

Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin

Shifting back to refreshing and very unique fruit beers is the Grapefruit Sculpin from Ballast Point. The Sculpin is a top class IPA, so why not add even more citrus character by including some grapefruit? This beer is amazingly fresh with a big citrus character that never quite goes over the top and proves itself as a top summer IPA with a twist.

Lagunitas DayTime

Another California IPA with something special comes from Lagunitas. The DayTime is self-described as a Fractional IPA. This means it’s design to have all of the citrus and resinous IPA flavor, but only a fraction of the alcohol (4.65% to be precise) so it can be enjoyed anytime. Great for the patio, and if you’re staying a while you can enjoy more than one.

Phillips Bottle Rocket ISA

From the west coast of Canada comes the Phillips Bottle Rocket ISA, another take on the lighter IPA. Using the term session (as in India Session Ale) signals a lighter, session-able beer (coming it at 5% ABV in this case). The Bottle Rocket is a delightfully hoppy, but also delightfully light beer. Many brewers are now making beers with huge flavor, combined with lower alcohol content, and Bottle Rocket is one of the better examples.

Deschutes Chainbreaker

Chainbreaker from Deschutes of Oregon represents another fairly recent trend: the hopping of established traditional styles of beer. By adding significant hops to the Belgian Wit, Chainbreaker amps up the citrus intensity of the beer, while maintaining the refreshing crisp Wit character. Chainbreaker is appropriately cloudy, and is clear proof a beer doesn’t need to be clear to quench your thirst.

Lawson's Sip Of Sunshine

Our last IPA is from Lawson’s Finest Liquids of Vermont, called Sip of Sunshine. It’s certainly rare, but coming from Vermont, one of the epicenters of IPA excellence, it’s worth your while to seek this beer out while you’re searching for your Heady Topper. It’s fresh and delicious with a big tropical fruit character balanced with a light body and resinous backbone.

Brooklyn Brewing Sorachi Ace

Continuing on the topic of hops, but in a different style of beer is the Sorachi Ace from Brooklyn Brewing. Sorachi Ace is the name of a hop originally bred in Japan but in this beer it’s an amazing accompaniment to a Belgian-style Saison. This is a spicy, clean beer with a hint of Belgian funkiness. If you're looking for something a bit heartier on the patio, this is a great choice.

Ommegang Hennepin

From Ommegang of New York is another take on the Saison, called Hennepin. Spicy, lemony and moderately funky this beer is a throwback to a classic rustic style but with a bit of a coriander twist. It’s quite delicious with food, and strange as it may sound, one of my best sushi meals ever was accompanied by this beer.

Logsdon Farms Seizoen Bretta

As I truly love my Saisons, here’s another favorite, this time from Logsdon Farms, the Seizoen Bretta. Spicy, fruity and fresh like the preceding couple beers, the Seizoen Bretta adds another dimension due to the addition of a special yeast called Brettanomyces that both makes this beer super crisp and dry in the finish, but also adds some additional funky notes for additional character.

Brùton di Brùton

You may not be aware of it, but Italy is starting to make some really exceptional beers. One of my favorite Italian breweries, Brùton, makes a great summer beer called di Brùton, a tasty and highly drinkable Blonde Ale. It’s fresh and lightly fruity with just enough grassy hop character to demand a sip while enjoying some pizza on the patio.

Hitachino Nest White Ale

Count on the Japanese to make a Belgian-style Wit with a twist: the Hitachino Nest White Ale is a delicious, fresh and spicy, cloudy white ale. Wits normally have both coriander and orange peel to add spice and citrus notes, but nutmeg is also added to this beer to give it a big, complex spice boost. It’s both interesting, and very tasty.

Coronado Orange Avenue Wit

The Coronado Orange Avenue Wit is the southern California take on the Belgian Wit. As the name suggest, be prepared for amazing orange citrus character with this beer. It’s a bit lighter in body, but then finishes with some great spicy coriander character.

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissebeir

Any summer beer list would be derelict in its duties if it failed to include a good Hefeweizen. I’ve chosen one of the most esteemed Weissbiers in the world, the Weihenstephaner Hefeweissebeir. Amazingly balanced between banana and clove character, this cloudy beer also features a delicate tart note in its refreshing finish, but what else would you expect from a brewery that’s been around roughly 1000 years?

Estrella Damm

Sticking with beers from Europe, but changing gears to a very light, summer beer, next up is Estrella Damm from Spain. Crisp, clean and quite light, this beer is a true patio-sipper while enjoying plates of tapas.

Žatec Pivovar

Next up we’re off to the land of Pilsners, with Žatec Pivovar, from the Czech republic. Czech Pilsners were the first, clear, golden lagers that took the world by storm in the mid 1800’s and remain popular today. This beer demonstrates the Pilsner finesse of a grainy malt backbone massaged gently by lightly bitter spicy hops.

Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pils

Our first take on the American Pilsner on this list is Mama’s Little Yella Pils is from Oskar Blues. Beyond the clever name, this beer is a great take on the Czech Pilsner with a delightful bready quality balanced floral and herbal hops. For Oskar Blues, this is a slightly subdued offering, but that’s also what makes it a tremendous summer beer.

Firestone Walker Pivo Pils

Another American Pilsner with a slightly different approach is the Pivo Pils from Firestone Walker. A German-style Pils, this beer is slightly drier than its Czech compatriots and as the descriptor Hoppy Pils would suggest, it’s also got a stronger hop punch than the prior Pilsner beers on this list. I’d recommend you try as many Pilsners as you can to see the difference between them, all in the name of science, of course.

Hacker-Pschorr Munich Gold

Germany’s initial response to the Czech Pilsner onslaught was the Helles Lager, a clear golden and subtle beer. The Munich Gold, from Hacker-Pschorr is the bigger brother of the Helles Lager with bit more weight, and a more assertive hopping and spicy malt character. It’s also crisp, clean and very dry – a top notch warm weather beer.

Bernard Dark Lager

Our next Czech lager will initially seem like a counterintuitive choice as a summer beer. The Dark Lager from Bernard looks like a dark beer, which many assume would be too heavy for summer, but on first sip you’ll discover that even though it has some roasted character (from the dark malt), it’s also a lager, which means that it’s clean and dry. Try it and impress your friends: they’ll be shocked how well a dark lager works on the patio.

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To drive the dark lager point home, next up is the MOA Noir from New Zealand. Not quite as dry and clean as the Bernard, this dark lager beer impresses more with its richness and character than its pure crispness. This beer is better enjoyed on a cooler evening versus the hot midday sun, but still is well within the scope of summer.

Renaissance Elemental Porter

I’ll give in and grant that his next beer would work best on a cool summer’s night when the sun is down and dark beers come out to play. The Renaissance Elemental Porter is a dark and tasty tour de force with a rich chocolate character and a lightly bitter finish. Why would this be a summer beer? It’s because even though it’s a darker beer, the body is surprisingly light, making it quite drinkable and unexpectedly refreshing. Porters work in summer, trust me!

Smuttynose Old Brown Dog

Going back a touch lighter with a brown ale, the Old Brown Dog from Smuttynose of New Hampshire shows off the key elements of a great brown ale: nutty with caramel notes and a pleasing dry finish. Its American roots lead to a little more hopping than the English version, but it’s still enticingly balanced and easy to drink.

Sound Brewing O'Regan's Revenge

Sound Brewing of Washington State brings us an “off-color” dark red offering with an Irish red ale called O’Regan’s Revenge . Like most Irish Red Ales it’s malt-forward with a bready-caramel quality and no hops bite. The very slight fruity quality rounds out the complexity and gives you an excellent beer to contemplate with mates around a picnic table.

Timothy Taylor's Landlord

Timothy Taylor’s Landlord is our representative beer from England, and it’s a real charmer. As an English pale ale it’s got a surprisingly low ABV (4.3%) considering its well-rounded flavor. Like any good English ale it displays a solid biscuit malt backbone and where it really shines is in the bold and balanced hopping that makes a strong spicy citrus appearance and lingers subtly on the palate in the finish. This beer punches well above its weight.

New Belgium Fat Tire

There are a handful of classic North American beers that deserve to be on a summer best of list, and New Belgium’s Fat Tire is definitely one of those beers. Sure, New Belgium makes some great summer seasonals every year, but their classic Amber remains one of their best. This beer is all about balance: after some initial caramel malt notes some fruity character and fresh floral hops make an appearance. Everything melds together nicely in the finish with a very slightly sweet and pleasing finish. Find your inner peace on the patio with this beer.

Jack's Abbey Hopponius Union

Our second to last beer is one of a new and popular style that has been making an appearance in the last couple years. The Hopponius Union from Jack’s Abbey is an Indian Pale Lager: a crisp, clean lager that’s hopped like an India Pale Ale. Even better, this beer shows some big West Coast-style hopping with lots of tropical fruit and citrus character over a very clean and direct beer. Love hops? Love lagers? This is the beer for you.

Anderson Valley Highway 128 Gose

Last, but not least, is Anderson Valley’s Highway 128 Gose flavored with Blood Orange. Gose is a style of beer originally from the eastern part of Germany. Gose is known for being slightly tart and having a salty character. The Highway 128 Gose includes blood orange, and this tends to increase the intensity of the tart character of this beer. It’s extremely refreshing, and based on personal experience, a great beer after a vigorous mountain bike ride.

That’s the list. I’d like to thank Sherbrooke Liquor in Edmonton, Alberta for their ridiculous beer selection, and help putting together this list.